Please allow us to introduce you to experts in the field of nutrition, food and health who have distinguished themselves in the field of nutrition. Some of these experts are also Advisors to the Nutrition Toolbox (they have an asterisk next to their name). None of them want to sell you anything. Like us, their goal is a happy and healthy population of eaters. We trust these professionals to be unbiased, honest, and discerning in their advice.

*Dr. Robert Lustig

Dr. Robert Lustig is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Endorcinology Division at UCSF.

Dr. Dean Ornish

Dr. Dean Ornish earned a B.A. in Humanities summa cum laude from the University of Texas in Austin, and his M.D. from the Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Ornish is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Cristin Kearns

Dr. Kearns is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco with a joint appointment in the department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences in the School of Dentistry and the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies in the School of Medicine, and an Affiliate Instructor at the University of Washington School of Dentistry.

Dr. Yoni Freedhoff

Dr. Freedhoff is a family doctor, Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa, Author of The Diet Fix, and founder of Ottawa’s non-surgical Bariatric Medical Institute – a multi-disciplinary, ethical, evidence-based nutrition and weight management centre.

Dr. Timothy Noakes

Timothy Noakes, a professor at and researcher at University of Cape Town has been investigating the effects of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates on human metabolism. He founded the Noakes Foundation in 2012, a non-profit organization dedicated to understanding the benefits of a high fat low carbohydrate diet. Dr. Noakes uses evidence based research in search for optimum nutrition for individuals.

Dr. Kimber Stanhope

Dr. Kimber Stanhope is an esteemed researcher at the University of California, Davis. She currently works for the Department of Molecular Biosciences in the School of Veterinary Medicine conducting research on the effects of sugar consumption. Dr. Stanhope earned her BS, MS and PhD in Nutrition all from UC Davis. She is also a Registered Dietitian.

Dr. Steve Phinney

Dr. Stephen Phinney has extensively researched the high fat low carb ketogenic diet in performance and in reversing metabolic syndrome, diabetes and obesity. He has also been a long time partner with Jeff Volek, and together they wrote The Art and Science of Low Carb Living. Dr. Phinney also explains The Art and Science of Low Carb Living and Performance in one of his talks.

Dr. Jeff Volek

Dr. Christopher Gardner

Dr. Christopher Gardner received his PhD in nutrition science at UC Berkeley and now teaches and researches at Stanford University. He investigates the low carb and low fat diets for weight loss and has concluded that everyone is different in how they respond to these diets. Dr. Gardner also explores the motivations for dietary changes other than health, such as animal welfare, climate change, and social justice. He further investigates how food systems can provide better quality of food which will lead to dietary improvements among communities.

Dr. Maya Adam

Dr. Maya Adam is passionate about protecting our children’s health and believes home cooking is key to that success. Dr. Adams tells us how cooking food at home changed her life and inspired her to help others return to cooking fresh whole foods. For Dr. Adams, food is more than just what we eat, it is an adventure and an experience that adds value to food. Cooking reminds us where food comes from and gives individuals the freedom to make healthier meals. She teaches the online course, Stanford Introduction to Food and Nutrition, which addresses shopping, cooking, and fun ways to teach children about food and nutrition.

Nina Teicholz

Nina Teicholz, investigative journalist and author of the international and New York Times best seller, Big Fat Surprise, is known for challenging the dogma “saturated fat is bad for your health.” In her book, journal articles and Tedx talk, Teicholz explains that saturated fat is not the enemy to our health and she reveals the history, politics and science behind the dietary guidelines. She advocates eating whole foods and eliminating refined grains, sugar and other processed foods for achieving better health.

Gary Taubs

Gary Taubs is an American science writer and author of “Good Calories, Bad Calories,” and “Why We get Fat.” Taubes seeks to understand the reason why so many people world suffer from diabetes and obesity. He challenges the current presumption that simply overeating leads to obesity and that a calorie is just a calorie. Taubes is also cofounder of the Nutrition Science Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous research and finding answers to the current nutrition controversies.

Mark Schatzker

Mark Schatzker is well known for his books Steak and The Dorito Effect. In an interview and The Dorito Effect, he explains that natural food (i.e. chicken, steak, vegetables, and fruits) has lost its flavor due to the farming and feeding methods that produce fast, efficient, and high volume results. Scientists continually find chemicals that make food delicious, and companies mass produced these flavors and add them to food to compensate for the loss of natural flavor. Unfortunately, the loss of flavor also means the loss of nutrients because flavor is the chemical language of nutrition. The food we eat today is less nutritious than it was 50 years ago, which is masked by the added flavor to our foods.

Damon Gameau

Damon Gameau, an Australian actor and director, lived three years without sugar and observed noticeable differences in his health and well-being. He then wanted to see what would happen if he ate 40 g of sugar per day (the typical sugar intake of Australians) from presumed “healthy” food, such as granola bars, cereals, low fat yogurt, etc… The experiment lasted 60 days and Gameau gained 8.5 kg, 10 cm around the waist and developed a fatty liver. Gameau documented his diet journey in the film That Sugar Film.

*Dorothy Mullen

Dorothy Mullen is the Founder of The Suppers Programs and for 25 years has devoted her life to studying problems and solutions related to chronic illness and here’s her conclusion: If we create a safe, non-judgmental environment where we learn how to support each other’s personal pathways to vibrant health, people will sort out the details for themselves. If we protect people from commercial messages that unduly influence our health choices, we can get clarity about what we actually need. If we teach people to run personal experiments to discover which foods and behaviors make us feel the best, we become the best case managers of our own pathways to a healthier life. And if we do all this while preparing and eating delicious meals together, we come to understand that healing is a social experience.

*Roberta Ruggiero

Roberta Ruggiero is the founder of the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation, Inc., a renowned resource for providing support, advocacy and information about the causes, prevention and management of hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar.

Ed Bauman

Ed Bauman is the founder of Bauman College. Built on the revolutionary ideas of Dr. Ed Bauman, Bauman College is on the forefront of the holistic nutrition movement. Through rigorous curriculum, relevant career guidance, and visionary direction, Bauman is preparing the future leaders, thinkers, and creators in the nutrition and culinary arts industries.

Marion Nestle

Marion Nestle is a Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is also Professor of Sociology at NYU and Visiting Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell. She earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Nestle focuses her research on scientific and societal influences and food marketing schemes on food choices and how they relate to obesity. She has written several prize winning books, and received many awards and honors for her public service, leadership, and innovation in the nutrition and food industry.